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Soviet flashback

Via Brendan Kiley at Slog, the Guardian covers Hugo Chavez’s adoption of a favorite old Soviet standby, the anti-speculator campaign. Long quote:

“The government has boxed itself in with a misguided policy mix of rampant spending and price and foreign exchange controls that has resulted in a growing output gap and galloping inflation,” said Patrick Esteruelas, of Eurasia Group political consultancy. He added that the government, unwilling to risk austerity measures in the run-up to September’s congressional elections, was deflecting blame. “It has found it highly convenient to persecute private food retailers.”

Venezuela’s authorities disagree. They say private firms are cheating customers with unjustified price rises that are driving 30% inflation, Latin America’s highest. Food prices are rising even faster, at 40%. According to Chávez, it is part of a plot by US-backed “fascist oligarchs” to destabilise his leftist experiment.

“Do you know why capitalist prices are so high? Because they are thieves, stealing from the people. Don’t let them trick you,” said the president during a TV broadcast last week. He promised to crush speculators and lower prices in what he termed an “economic war”.

Ugh. Let the oil price keep dropping. It makes our gas cheaper and Chavez’s life as a petro-dictator much harder and his strategies more desperate. Like now he is nationalizing farmland and supermarkets. Maybe he can advocate for backyard steel mills next? And for a double-ugh:

The government also opened a chain of fast-food restaurants selling arepas – cornbread sandwiches – at bargain prices.

So not only is Hugo Chavez an anti-freedom dictatorial jack-in-the-box, but also he subsidizes fast food consumption. Robbing them and poisoning them at the same time!